Salt Lake City Officer Shoots Patrick Harmon

Recently released body camera footage shows Utah police fatally shooting a man from behind as he attempts to run away from officers. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has cleared a Salt Lake City police officer who fatally shot 50-year-old Patrick Harmon on Aug. 13, saying the shooting was justified, after authorities say Harmon pulled a knife and threatened to injure officers who were trying to arrest him, the Salt Lake City reports.

Patrick Harmon

“They just murdered him flat-out,” Alisha Shaw, Harmon’s niece, told The Guardian on Thursday. “They are lying. There is no way they were threatened by anything. He was only trying to get away.”

According to The Guardian, the district attorney’s office claimed that Harmon said, “I’ll cut you,” then turned and faced officers with a knife as he was running.

The video seems to tell another story, however, as Harmon cannot be heard making that threat and never appears to turn toward officers before he is shot.